


So Vast and Bright

by bewaretheboojum



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU, DCU (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Stars, Tim's Ducati, some kisses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-25
Updated: 2019-06-25
Packaged: 2020-05-19 19:38:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19363039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bewaretheboojum/pseuds/bewaretheboojum
Summary: Tim has something to show Tam.





	So Vast and Bright

**Author's Note:**

> I blame Silver_Snow_77 and artificiallifecreator for this. They cheered me on over at the Capes and Coffee server and now you get Tim/Tam cuteness.

It had been a rough day for Tam. After 14 hours in the office, it had a glass and a half of wine before Tam had relaxed enough to even feel like she could peel off her business suit and pearls for the day. Not even bothering to text Tim to check in when she got home, Tam had skipped dinner, taken a long hot shower, finished her last glass of wine and decided that sleep, at this point, was the better part of valor.

Even as exhausted as she was after such a long day at the office, it took Tam over an hour to finally fall asleep. It felt like she had only been asleep for a few short minutes when she felt a gentle kiss on her temple. She came awake slowly, realizing Tim was leaning over her on the bed.

"Hey," Tim called her to softly in a low, husky tone of voice.

Tam reached out to wrap an arm around Tim's neck and tried to tug him in to bed with her. When he came to her place this late after patrol, he usually just slipped under the sheets next to her. He went to sleep without even waking her most nights. This time, he resisted her attempt to pull down on to the bed with her. 

"Hey, I need to show you something," Tim said, insistently, voice pitched to a low whisper.

Tam came a little more awake and Tim pulled her up into a sitting position. Tim was wearing a soft, dark blue t-shirt, jeans and his old, beat up black leather jacket with the Superman symbol painted inexpertly on the back.

“Get dressed. I need to show you something," Tim said, still in a hushed tone of voice.

Tam didn't ask him what he wanted to show her, she just slipped out of bed and pulled on a loose sundress and a pair of strappy leather sandals.

Tim guided her out of her building to where his bright red Ducati was parked on the street outside Tam’s building. Putting the motorcycle helmet gently over her head, Tim mounted his bike and pulled on his own helmet while Tam slipped on the back behind him. She wrapped her arms around his warm waist and held on tight as he started the bike and took it off down the street. 

It was a warm summer night with a light breeze coming up off of Gotham Bay. The wind whipped the skirt of Tam's sundress around her legs while Tim sped out of Gotham city and down the highway, out into the countryside. They drove in the warm summer night for almost an hour as the city bled into thinning suburbs until finally the only thing around was rolling fields of grass and crops.

Tim took them off the highway and down a long dirt road, dust kicked up by the tires of the bike morphed into twisting swirls on the road behind them. He took them to the top of high hill with a large, grassy clearing. Tim cut the engine of the bike and they both slipped off.

Pulling a blanket out from one of the compartments in the side of the Ducati, Tim spread it out on the grassy hillside. Tim and Tam settled down on the blanket leaning back on their elbows as Tim gestured up to the night sky far above them.

The moon hadn't risen yet and Gotham City's light pollution was nothing but a low glowing red smudge off on a horizon miles away. The sky spread out above them, littered with brilliantly sparkling stars.

The milky way cut a foamy path along the eastern horizon as the bright blots of constellations dotted the sky. Small satellites made their slow and steady path across the horizon and planets glinted at them, red and gold and white.

It was breathtaking.

Tam sighed and leaned her head against Tim's shoulder. He reached out an arm and wrapped it around her shoulder as he pressed a soft kiss to her temple.

“I found this spot a few years ago,” Tim said, voice still pitched low and quiet. “Not too long after…”

Tim broke off and didn’t finish. They fell into silence for a few long moments. Tam just waited, giving Tim time to go on if he felt that he could. Tim was the type of person who needed space to think and process before he could talk about the hard points in his life. 

"Tonight was..." he started again in a soft tone of voice before pausing and continuing. "Tonight was bad. There was just so much... There was too much..."

Tim shook his head and broke off, pausing mid-sentence.

Tam reached out a hand and patted his knee comfortingly.

Tam knew she would never really understand how bad a bad night for Tim really was. Tim's bad days weren’t defined by the number of bitchy day traders that chewed him out, or how many hours he worked or weather or not his office ran out of cold brew. Tim's bad days were defined by the number of lives lost or ruined and the amount of blood that stained Gotham’s sidewalks.

Sometimes, when Tim climbed into bed next to her in the early hours of the morning, Tam's own stresses melted away under sheer relief. Relief that he had made he back home to her again. Tim limping home and giving her a tired smile tended to put things into perspective. 

"I just... Wanted to get away from the city tonight. Just... Just for a little while."

"Good," Tam answered. "So did I."

Tim turned and looked her in the face for the first time since he came home. His eyes were rimmed with the kind of dark, heavy bruises that indicated sleep deprivation. Brows furrowed, Tim's deeply expressive mouth was pressed into a thin, tense line.

Tam couldn't help but lean forward to press a soft, gentle kiss to the corner of that mouth. She kissed him lightly again and again until she felt his mouth soften under hers and he kissed her back. His mouth was warm, wet and gentle on her own. He lifted a hand to lightly cup Tam's jaw to tilt her head back and deepen the kiss.

Pulling back to sigh lightly against her mouth, Tim nuzzled Tam just under her ear, his breath tickling the hair at the nape of her neck.

"Thank you," Tim whispered against the skin of her neck.

"For what?" Tam whispered back.

"For being here. For being with me. Just... Just for being."

"I know I don't always remember to say it," Tam said. "But I'll always be here for you. No matter what happens. No matter how bad the day or how bad the night. I'll be here. Waiting for you to come home to me. Just... Just promise me you'll always come home."

"I promise," Tim said thickly and pressed another soft kiss to Tam's neck. The expression on his face as he pulled back was less haunted, more peaceful and more serene than he had looked in a long time.

They laid back on the blanket and watch the stars move across the sky. They watched the stars dim as the moon rose and arced over them. They watched as the breeze turned cooler and the night bled into the early hours of the morning. Tam dozed, occasionally but every time she woke back up she opened her eyes and looked up at Tim's quietly peaceful face staring up into the vast and brilliant night sky.


End file.
